I am able to get a XJ6 Read end out of a 70 jag .Should I do it? It has the disc breaks near the pumpkin and it is limited slip. I have a 39 chevy hot rod I am rebuilding with a slightly modified 327. Currently I have a rear out of a late 50's chevy( I believe it is posi but not sure.) If I do take on this task what kind of modifications am I going to have to do to get this thing in there right. Also I almost forgot to mention that this would be independent. So with my Mustang II front I would have 4 wheel independant suspension. So any info would be great.(one last thing this rear would be free all I would have to do is pay to get it shipped)

Sounds like a sweet deal to me, depending on how much it costs to ship it. I checked on one a few months ago and was told that they weigh so much that the shipping was going to be $150.00 for that one.

I thought my Jag axle in a Rambler station wagon was a little on the odd side, but a PINTO???

The only thing to be concerned about with a used Jag axle is the cost of overhauling. Try www.jagoutlet.com for parts. My $100 axle cost me $700 to build, but I had to change the gears too. After about 85 the axle ratio was 2.88 for the XJ6, I think a 3.08 was optional. Earlier models typically used a 3.31 or 3.54. I got a good used set of gears for $125 (shipped), and paid a local driveline shop $150 to set them up. That was the biggest expense ($275). Next was a caliper -- $139 for a rebuilt one. One of my calipers had been replaced at some point and only needed a $20 rebuild kit, the other was original with the piston rusted solid to the body. One of the plastic seals had come out of the outer hub housings and caused the bearings to fail. The housing and stub axle were okay, just had to replace the bearings and seals. At $60 a side I replaced both sides. I also replaced the seal on the diff -- they are prone to failure, and you have to take the whole assembly out to replace them. Mine were good, but for $25-$35 worth of seals I replaced them. Rotors were $50 each from a local parts store. Brake pads were cheap enough, about like any others. The seals get hot from the brake rotors and exhaust -- Jag exhausts are just a few inches from the rotors and calipers. The Jags a bit on the heavy side too -- I'd havethought my wagon was heavier in the back, but the stock Jag shocks might be to stiff -- it sits a little higher than a Jag normally does.

You'll have to have yours narrowed, not to bad but will have to be done by a good shop. You can have tubular shafts made to replace the solid drive shafts, the u-joints are a standard Chevy type. The shafts are forged steel and can be welded easy enough, as can the swing arm. You just have to hold it all perfectly straight when welding, and have an experienced pipe welder do it. The shafts are usually cut then a short section of each half turned down and a piece of tubing put over the ends and welded.

Farna, Yea the Jag rear will be a bit different. So will the Jag front suspension and the Caddy 500 cubic incher with auto and air. It should make for a "unique" package. That is what Im after.

As far as the rear being a bunch of $$ to rebuild, I dont think its any worse than having to custom make a rear subframe with leaf springs tucked under and having to mount a custom housing. The rear I got has 3.08s with the locker already installed. The car I took them from is a low milage 82 XJ6 and I drove them before taking them out. C.W.I. makes all the shorter shafts for it too. Pretty reasonable surprisingly. They have the Half Shafts built like little driveshafts,ala Vette and the shorter lowers. I took a look at your Rambler and that little wagon is going to be sweet when its done.

I am going to run C5 coevete wheels on my car because they have almost all off set. I should almost get away with stock fenders.

I'm gonna run it full size. I want it to corner like a cat and with the Vette wheels it will not be too much wider than stock. I liked the looks of the Jag front. It has huge brakes, Good geometry and its going to be a snap to make it a bolt on job. And it has a power rack too.

Take a look at my crossmember at http://groups.msn.com/AMCsForever/cl...wproject.msnw.
What I did was put studs in the top of the diff and reamed 8 shock absorber bushings (rubber, not urethane). Put one bushing between diff and a plate, one on top of plate with a large washer. The crossmember is bolted rigidly in the car. The rubber gives some vibration isolation, but isn't thick enough to give to much. Use erethane and you may as well bolt it in rigid. I'm building my car as a daily driver.

For the lower links I used two four link bars -- the longer the better (mine are 28" -- would have used 36" but no room). Less arc travel. If you're running high hp you should probably put a link at the bottom of the diff to control twisting. I'm just running 245 or so, so I think I'm going to skip that for now. The Jag didn't have it and was pushing 200 with the six, and as far as I've been able to find out the V-12 didn't have anyting like that either. 300 or less and it should be fine, maybe 350 hp.

The front end should be great, a little more track on front won't hurt! I had ot use deep set wheels also. Only the corvette wheels and some big SUV wheels will fit the 3.75" bolt circle. Ended up buying Weld Draglites - 7" wheels with 5.5" backset is the most I could get. Thought I'd be fine without narrowing the rear, but the Jag uses a deep wheel too -- not as deep as a vette though.

Well as far as a Jag front end they are very nice BUT the racks tend to leak. and run about 380.00, so beware they are not a cheap rack. There are a couple of different model racks as well. Make sure you replace the bushing with Neopren ones it makes a BIG difference in handeling. If you diff is an early 70's rear end and if it came from a 4.2 L XJ6 with an automatic the diff will be a Dana 3.54, if it's a overdrive model it's a 3.77. If it's a Dana type you can tell by the drain hole on the bottom of the pumpkin. If it's a 2.8L model the rear end will be a 4.27 to 1 for and automatic and a 4.55 to 1 if it's an overdrive model. The U joints are the same as a Vette so your good there, Check out Jag Graveyard on the net they have a BUNCH of goodies for it like brake lines etc. Also check the rotors, they're 2 types the vented ones and the non vented. You'll want to replace them with the vented type. Early Jag rearends had the problem of baking the diff seals next to the brakes because of the heat from the non vented discs. If you need a good sorce of info get the Haynes book on XJ6's they have all the specs for rebuild.

Thanx alot for all the info, I have a jag rear I intend to put in my '35 Hudson coupe. I didn't know about the vette wheels, I've got Jag ones but they r kinda narrow. Anyone know where I could get a posi setup for it? I bought it yrs ago, believe it's got 3.08 gears.

CWI might have a limited slip for the Jag, but Jag Outlet (www.jagoutlet.com) will have a used or refurbished one. There is a Jag refurbished parts dealer in Atlanta (can't recall name) that has them too. Not sure what you'll have to pay for one though. If you keep your ring and pinion you should be able to swap the diff without messing with the setting of the pinion. you might be better off to buy a complete diff though, sans brakes and such. Replace the diff seals when you replace it just because they are hard to get to (if you pull the thing apart).

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